


Tomorrow

by suranas



Category: Saints Row
Genre: Angst, F/M, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-20
Updated: 2015-04-20
Packaged: 2018-03-24 22:06:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3785986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suranas/pseuds/suranas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lena has just arrived back at her apartment after dealing with the Syndicate; her grief still fresh.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tomorrow

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place right after the events of SR3. Please let me know if there are any typos etc. I kind of rush-edited this.

The lobby’s familiar sight and scent didn’t bring Lena comfort as it typically did when she stepped through its glass doors. She was grateful to be home, but she knew her apartment was going to hold nothing but memories that once made her heart flutter; memories that are now only going to bring her pain.

It was past midnight as Lena crossed the lobby’s threshold toward the elevator. Her body ached from the flight home and the small bag on her shoulder felt as if it weighed a thousand pounds. Sitting behind the lobby desk was the same night guard that had always been there. His name was Joe; he’s a bit older than Lena and reasonably polite. She hoped he wouldn’t speak to her, or even notice her presence; Lena knew she wouldn’t be able to put on even a fake smile.

Joe looked up from the desk when he heard the sound of footsteps coming near. He stood up and smiled. “Welcome home, Ms. Kuo.” It was a warm and genuine greeting. 

Lena’s eyes briefly met his and his smile faded. There wasn’t an ounce of happiness in her eyes, she barely looked like the woman he’d had made small talk with nearly every day. 

No words were spoken as she waited for the elevator to make it to the bottom floor; Lena gave the guard a weak wave before she stepped in and pressed the button for the 27th floor. The ride up was agonizing; she knew it was going to hurt to be in her apartment again and knowing Johnny’s laugh would never fill the space again. He would never show up at her door randomly with his favorite grin spread across his face, or accidentally fall asleep on the couch after having a few too many. Never again. 

A lump started to form in Lena’s throat as she ambled down the hallway towards her apartment door. She didn’t want to go inside, hell, she didn’t know if she could. Her hand trembled as she put the key in the lock; she took a deep breath and pushed open the door. A wave of lavender and vanilla hit her when the door swung open; the stretch of the main room before her was nearly pitch black. Lena stood at her door staring into the darkness, her feet unwilling to step forward.

Finally, she reached her hand around the door-frame, flicked on a light switch and took a few small steps forward. Everything looked exactly as it had before she left, but somehow it still felt empty. Lena let her bag slide off of her shoulder and hit the floor as she closed the front door. Tentatively, she stepped towards the center of the room and slowly sat down on the couch. As Lena sat there alone in her quiet apartment, she fought the urge to cry. She’d cried enough, she thought; Lena closed her eyes tight and sunk back into the plush cushions.

She must have dozed off because when next she opened her eyes, she felt a bit disoriented. As Lena rubbed her eyes, a glint in the carpet underneath the coffee table caught her attention. She had no idea what it could be; maybe a misplaced earring. She yawned and got down on her hands and knees; Lena reached her arm underneath the table and felt for whatever the object was. After a bit of searching, her fingers touched what felt like a ring. Lena pulled her arm out from under the table and sat back on her knees; the object closed in her fist.

Lena opened her hand and her breath caught in her chest; it felt as if her heart had stopped. The object was, in fact, a ring and it was Johnny’s. She studied the ring as tears started to distort her view; it was a ring he wore every day. The silver metal glimmered as she turned it over in her fingers, the ring itself was rather plain; if it had a meaning, he had never shared it with her. Lena placed a shaking hand over her mouth as the tears finally spilled from her eyes. Her mind was reeling and a million questions flooded her thoughts as she sat on her floor trying, but ultimately failing, to stifle her tears. 

Lena dropped her hand from her face and whispered in a broken voice, “Why is this here…? Damn it… why?”

She tried to remember what happened before the day they robbed the Syndicate’s bank; she had to push through so much pain and anger, but the memory finally came to her. 

It was the night before the robbery; Johnny had been at her place for a few hours. They hadn’t been doing anything too exciting, just watching TV, talking, and generally enjoying one another’s company. Lena recalled the last few minutes before he left.

///  
Johnny was pulling on his jacket when he asked, “Ready for tomorrow?”

Lena shrugged and shook her head. “Something doesn’t feel right.”

He smirked and plopped down on the couch next to her. “You worry too much. It’ll be fun.”

She half-smiled at him and returned to her thoughts. Why couldn’t she shake this feeling? It had been so long since they’d done anything like this and Johnny was right, it was going to be fun Lena told herself. Yet still, a feeling of dread creeped at the back of her mind.

Johnny saw a concerned look on Lena’s face and nudged her with his shoulder. “Stop worrying.”

She grinned and nudged him back. “It’s my job to worry. I seem to be the only one who does.”

Johnny scoffed and stood up, offering her a hand. “I worry. Sometimes.” 

Lena snickered as her helped her up off the couch. “Right. When, exactly? I seem to remember you throwing yourself into danger.”

Speaking as he strode towards the front door, “Well, I don’t worry about myself—“

“You should,” Lena cut him off as she followed behind him.

He chuckled and turned to face her, continuing his sentence. “But, I worry about you.”

Lena smiled and felt a blush rise to her cheeks; she moved around him to unlock the door hoping he didn’t notice the subtle pink tone on her cheeks. She spun around to face Johnny again and that stupid smirk on his face said that he did notice.

“How thoughtful,” Lena joked. 

Johnny reached around her and grabbed the doorknob, getting ever so close to Lena as he started to open the door. Lena’s heart pounded as he got closer, and he knew it, too; that trademark smirk on his lips said as much.

Abruptly, he side-stepped out from in front of her and began to pull the door open. “See you tomorrow?”

Lena exhaled, “Tomorrow.” A soft smile curled up the corners of her mouth as she spoke.  
///

And that was it; Johnny had walked out of her apartment and went home. It was nothing special, not then, but now… now it meant something. It was the last time Lena would ever see him walking down the hallway; the last time she’d ever be that close to him.

Lena clutched the ring to her chest and let out a low sob. That sob turned into more tears, and the tears turned into weeping and gasping for air. She cried and cried until there were no tears left to shed; until her body hurt. 

Head pounding, Lena took a deep breath. Her legs had gone numb from sitting on the floor for so long, but she attempted to pull herself up. Lena started to make her way to her bedroom, steadying herself on the wall when her legs refused to work.

She collapsed onto her bed, more exhausted than she’d ever been in her life. Deliriously, Lena hoped that the past few months had been a dream. She hoped she’d wake up and Johnny would be safe and that she’d be told that the Syndicate didn’t exist; that it was all just a crazy nightmare. 

Lena, in her grief-induced desperation, almost had herself convinced that she’d wake up with a text from Johnny. Everything is okay, she thought to herself.

“Tomorrow,” Lena whispered before she drifted off to sleep.


End file.
